The Don Recipe

Measure and combine

Add 2 oz bourbon, 0.75 oz Amaro Nonino, 0.5 oz Aperol, 0.25 oz simple syrup, and 3 dashes Angostura bitters into a mixing glass.

Add ice and stir

Fill the mixing glass with plenty of ice and stir gently with a bar spoon for 20–30 seconds until well-chilled and slightly diluted (the glass should frost slightly).

Prepare glass

Place a large ice cube into an old-fashioned glass.

Strain

Strain the chilled cocktail over the large ice cube in the old-fashioned glass using a strainer to catch ice shards.

Express and garnish

Take an orange twist and hold it over the glass; give it a quick twist to express the oils over the surface, then rub the peel on the glass rim and drop it into the drink as garnish.

Serve

Serve immediately. Optionally provide a short stirring straw. The finished cocktail is a balanced Don — bourbon forward with herbal bitterness from Nonino, bright orange from Aperol, and warming spice from Angostura.

Use the jigger to measure all spirits and syrup accurately. Use the bar spoon to stir; strain with a Hawthorne or julep strainer into an old-fashioned glass. Use a peeler or channel knife to cut an orange twist for garnish.